Graveyard of Stories

Almost Human

Chapter 1: Cocoon The room was filled with glass tubes reaching from the ceiling down to the floor. They were all fogged up, but it didn’t look like there was anything in there anyway. Almost all of them differed in size, but they all were relatively big. Big enough to hold someone inside. An odd green liquid was flowing through them. It was a moldy green color and it looked as if it had gone bad. I pointed my flashlight around the room to get the main layout. My flashlight was terrible and almost out of battery, but if it wasn’t for finding a few triple A batteries in a gross drawer I would have left by now. I pointed my flashlight to the ground to see if there was anything notable on the floor, but if anything it was just really unsanitary. This place looked like this place used to be some S.C.P contentment center but in real life. It was almost like it had gone wrong or something, but at the same time it looked more like a test sight. It was also odd how everything seemed to be in decent shape. Nothing was inherently decomposing, there was no graffiti, and there was electricity in some rooms. I continued to consciously walk through the room. Then about a few feet from the wall was another tube, but this time the side was broken and the floor around it was stained a moldy green color. I waved my flashlight to the right corner of the room, but here was nothing but dust. I then looked back at the tube and walked closer to get a better look. I was then able to see a trail that looked like drag marks leading to the left corner. I didn’t shine my flashlight though. There was something odd. Some parts were mixed with a dark blue color that seemed like some sort of blood. The tube also seemed to have broken wires stemming from the ceiling. I was then reminded of the marks leading to the corner. There was no way anything was alive, right? But there was an absence of the rotting smell that was in the other rooms with animal bones and cow flesh, something that I wished to erase from my memory. There was a slight scent of chemicals though. Maybe nothing was there because it was cleaned up? That could have been the case, only if there wasn’t a slight glare on the spots, that was made visible when I had shown my light on it. I pointed my flashlight in the left corner and the sight made me inhale so quickly it made me cough and hurt my head. It didn’t look human, but it wasn’t exactly an animal. It sent a chill down my spine. It was curled up in a ball and its skin looked to be a beige white and fuzzy. It also seemed like they had hair of some sort. It had wings that covered its body and seemed almost dead. It almost looked like some sort of moth. The antennas resembled moths as well. I walked closer to it and propped my flashlight. I crouched down and turned the body over. I still wasn’t sure if it was alive or not, but it was soon answered when its eyes slowly opened and closed again. Its eyes were a jet back and it looked glossy in the dim lighting. Whatever this thing was, It was alive. Its arms twitched, revealing a second set. I lifted it up and it was pretty light. It probably didn’t weigh more than 80 pounds. I was able to grab my flashlight along with the moth thing. Luckily, my house wasn’t too far from here and I didn’t have to go into any neighborhoods to get back to my house. I darted out and walked as fast as I could through the forest where that broken down place was located. After I arrived at my house I walked over to the windows and saw that my mom was most likely in her bedroom. Perfect. I walked in through the front door and ran to my bedroom. I slammed the door and set the thing on my bed. My arms felt weak but didn’t hurt that much. Then after about five minutes what I had done set in. shit, shit, shit, shit, shit why did I even do that? Where will I even put them? Then I remembered my closet. It was not ideal, but it would have to work if I needed to put them somewhere. Well now I would need to find some way to wake them up. I walked over them and debated what to do. I tried shakinging them lightly but when that didn’t work, I shook harder, which was more like shoving. I then saw their eyes slightly open again to that jet black. They then seemed to pop open and jump upright, making me step back a bit. They then started to cough violently, before throwing up some bright green liquid. They then began to cough again, but it was in a blueish color. It looked like the same blue I saw when I was at the building, but lighter. Was that blood? They stopped coughing and looked down at the green fluid that was now probably going to be stained on my bed. They wiped their face and looked at the blue on their white finger tips, that looked more like claws. I look three steps back, accidentally hitting my chair. They sharply turned their head to me. Their face was partly fear, but mostly confusion. But it didn’t really matter because only a few seconds of eye contact later they turned their head back to my bed, and threw up. How the hell am I going to clean this up. I was partially annoyed, but I guess it would be fine. After they were done vomiting, I could start to smell it, and it was awful. It was almost like rubbing alcohol and bleach mixed with vinegar. It didn’t help that the scent was strong. What the hell were they vomiting anyway? I was then able to hear a faint sentence that was mostly mumbled. “It-it burns.” It took me back by surprise. How did they know how to talk? Well at least it would be easier to communicate with them. “Are you ok?” My question was not met with a response, but instead with another question. “Where am I?” Their voice was shaky but easier to understand. “You're in my bedroom.” They seemed a bit more calm, but who knows how long that would last. They were basically a ball of anxiety at this point. “I'm going to grab a trash bag and some cleaning supplies. Just stay here.” I quickly left the room and luckily everything I needed was in the kitchen. I grabbed an old trash bag and some napkins for them if they ever threw up again, and I needed to clean up my bed. I opened my bedroom door and was hit with the smell again. They were sitting on the end of my bed, with their back against the wall. I handed them the bag and set most of my cleaning supplies on my desk. I picked them up again and set them down on my bean bag. I wasn’t too worried if that got some word alien throw-up on it. They held the bag close to their chest. They seemed much more calm than before. I then grabbed some paper towel and some cleaning spray from my desk and went over to my bed. The fluids looked more like really runny egg yolk than throw up. I sprayed some of the cleaner on and started to scrape off the exes from my bed. I threw away my trash in an extra bag I brought up in case I needed it, which in this case I did. I managed to get almost everything off of my bed, but it was stained a light green. I would probably just need to put it in the wash, but for now it was good enough. The real question was what the hell am I going to do with the bug-boy over there. I walked to my dresser and grabbed one of my old shirts and a baggy pair of black pants. I turned the shirt over and cut a slit through the back so they would be able to put the shirt on. I walked over to them and gave them the shirt. “Here, put this on.” They set down the bag and picked up the clothes. They were able to put everything on relatively fast. Now since they were clothed and hopefully done with vomiting, I would need to get the odor out. I left the room again and went to the bathroom, which had the air freshener. I brought it back inside the room and sprayed it in random areas. I tried to spray it near my bed or and directly on it. Thankfully most of the smell was gone. I'm sure this is gonna be fine, eventually. I'll probably try to go back soon.
Chapter 2: A Little Thing Hot sparks flew from the bent pole I turned into a welding machine. The skeleton of my creation was almost finished and it was only a matter of time- A loud crash came from outside of my hut, or base as I preferred. Another human pet thing? I pulled off my goggles and set them near my workspace. I pushed open the almost completely broken door and looked around. I cautiously walked outside into the back and there was..something? It was under my trash pile of dirt and glass when I was cleaning out the place I was forced to take residents in. Its face popped out of the trash and my wings stretched out. It was just a reflex that came in handy when needed, although it wasn’t now. The face was a Septicaides, one of us. But what was a Septicade doing here, especially a baby? My wings closed back in with each other and I picked up the child. They had sparkly black eyes and stared at me with them. After I fully pulled them out of the junk it was made apparent their second set of arms was missing, and looked clearly removed. I felt a wave of anger and memories splash over me, but was calmed by their voice. “I'm 2008, what's your name!?” Their voice was sweet like tea and almost sounded excited. “No it isn’t.” “What isn’t?” Their head tilted to their shoulder and their legs swayed back and forth. “Your name. You will have a much better name, how's Zeta?” Their head returned to normal and they flapped their wings in excitement. “I love that name! What was your name again?” “Scape. Less get you inside Zeta.” I carried them inside and put them back down next to a pile of blankets I was able to find. “Stay here for now. You must be starving.” I walked out into the kitchen and grabbed some barriers. It was hard to find food that wouldn’t make us sick, noustious, or in the worst casinario kill us. I picked them up and brought them to Zeta. They picked them up one by one and ate all of them with no hesitation. They luckily seem to not have any side effects to Zeta. I then crouched down to get to Zeta’s level of sight. “Can I ask you a question, Zeta?” “Okay!” They seemed so happy, it was so odd. “What do you remember before this? They stared out into space and made an “uh” sound for about three seconds. “Me and some others were being put on this big metal looking box with wheels!” They stretched out their arms to simulate the size. “I fell asleep and woke up on the dirt. It has been a few day-things since then.” They must have been taken off a truck and left there. “And do you know where the truck was taking you to?” “It was a new sight, they called it! They said we would have new rooms and they said it had to be a secret!” My blood felt like it was boiling and I clenched my hands into a fist. They were relocating the rest of them, if more of them to a new sight. “We are going to go on a trip. You're coming with me, you can’t be here by yourself anyway.” I got up and spread out my wings and they flapped through the air. “Do you know how to fly yet?” “No.” I picked them up and flew out of the house and into the forest. I knew where the rest of them were, and I would have been able to save them. Only if they didn’t relocate. My flight was quickly brought to a halt when I heard fast footsteps. I dropped back to my feet and ducked down. “Be quiet.” I whispered it loud enough to hear but quiet enough to not exactly be heard. I saw someone in a blue hoodie and black sweatpants. But they were carrying something, someone? They seemed to also be coming from the same place we were going, the experiment lab. My wings fluttered and lifted me off of the ground and I started to follow them. I made sure to stay out of view but still close enough to see them. From the slim amount of research I was able to do, they seemed to be a teen. But what the heck was a teen doing with a Septicade? I continued to follow them until they went back inside their house. This wasn’t a good time to break in, but I knew where they were located. I went through years of training with little to no brakes, but there was something about humans. They seemed to have power over anything and didn’t care who they would kill to get it. There were also the experiments they tested. It was one of the reasons I lost my eye. I backed up from the house and stayed low to the ground. I started to head back and head to the experiment site. I still wasn’t sure If I should bring Zeta inside. It was probably best for them to stay outside. When we arrived on the outside of the building I slowly lowered myself to the ground and set Zeta down. “Stay here. You can move around a bit, just don't go far.” “Okay then!” “If you see anyone other than me, go behind a bush or tree and be quiet. Got it?” “Yeah.” I started to walk into the building and took note of anything and everything possible. I looked in almost every room possible, and no sign of anyone. I walked in a room with a barely readable sign. I was able to make out the words “employee” and “don't enter.” But that didn’t necessarily mean anything since no one seemed to be here. The door opened with a loud creek that echoed through the empty building. After the door was fully opened I was able to hear something I wasn’t exactly able to make out. I held my breath to prevent any other noise and I listened with my antennas. I was able to make out footsteps, and more importantly in my direction. Remember your training. I looked up and saw thick structures lining the sealing hall like stripes. I flew up to get ahold of the seemed to be bricks and got myself stable on top of them. I stopped my wings from any more movement to make it as quiet as possible. I could hear the footsteps get closer and closer. Once they were close enough I was even able to see them through the gaps. They were the same person from not too long ago. Blue hoodie, black pants. This was one of the closest I had ever had to a human child. They slowed down once they saw the employee room and walked inside. My breathing felt heavy but I managed to keep quiet. They felt the closet and continued to walk around the building. I hopped down from the pillars and ran back to the exit. I was sure I didn’t want to be here with a human in the same place.

One of Us

Chapter 1: Your Local Comic Book Store. 2:00pm. It was mid-day on a saturday. I was finally out of school, and dad gave me my allowance. I got about 10 bucks at the end of every week and I usually spent it all at the comic store. They were all about 7 dollars per book but I didn't really care. I looked left and right to see if there were any cars coming, and I walked to the other side of the sidewalk. It was pretty busy where I lived, but it wasn't anything crazy. I was gonna meet up with my friend, Phen. He always said his name was weird but at least it's not Kepie. I told people my name was Ken for 3 years until people heard my dad call me my real name. Dad said mom had wanted my name to be Kepie. I haven't ever seen my mom. Heck, Dad wouldn't even show me her old photos. I eventually made it to the small comic store. It was called Cams Comic Book store, and it was in thick orange letters over the entrance. The building was white and made out of bricks. I walked in the store and looked around a bit for Phen. I saw him, sitting in the corner seats of the store with a stack of books on the table. “Hey Phen!” “What's up?” “Nothing much. Seen any cool books?” “Have you read the paranormal comics? I think I want to start ghost hunting because of the books.” “Really? Are they that good?” “Yah!” I looked at the stacks of books. They were all about ghosts, aliens, or skinwalkers. I didn't really know much about them. I wasn't even that into paranormal stuff. But maybe since Phen liked it, it couldn't be that bad. I picked up one of the ghost graphic novels from the stack of nine to twelve books. I started to read the first few pages and they were already pretty cool. I didn't want to read the whole thing before I got home so I looked at the back of the book to see it was 7.80 dollars. “You're right! These books are pretty cool.” He looked up from his book and looked at me. “Told you! But if you want, we could probably try ghost hunting or something next week.” “Well, it's worth a shot. It sounds fun anyway.” He looked at his book and back at me again. “Wait, doesn't your dad hate paranormal stuff or something?” “Yah. The last time I put on a paranormal show, dad turned it off and went on a rant of why the show was stupid.” “Geas. I know your dad is the owner of some big robotics company, so I would think he was smarter than that.” I lagged a bit and his joke. “He also wouldn't let me see any pictures of my mom! My own mom! I don't think there was anything going on between them before she died.” “I don't wanna get into a sensitive topic, but how did your mom die?” “Dad said she died in a car accident or something, and he would tell me the whole story when I was older.” “You’re 13 years old! You should be able to know the story about how she died!” “I know right.” I grabbed the 10 dollars and my book. “I'm going to pay for this really quickly.” “You should probably keep those away from your dad.” “I will.” I walked over to the cashier named Frank, by the looks of his nametag. I put my money and the book on the table. He started to check the book out and he gave me the change. “Have a good day.” “You too!” He put my book in a plastic bag and gave it to me with the reseat. I walked back to the table. “That was fast.” “Yah.” I heard my phone ringing from my back pocket. I picked up my phone and it was dad. I answered the phone. He was at work at this time, so I'm not sure why he would call. “Hi dad.” “Kepie, i'm not going to be home for another 8 hours so i'm gonna need you to go to Phen’s house or make dinner for yourself.” “Is It ok if I go to Phen’s house?” “Sure, just don't stay too long. Be back at the house by 9:00pm.” “Ok I will.” “By.” He hung up the phone. “What did your dad want?” “He wanted to tell me he wasn't gonna be back for another 8 hours.” “Does that mean you get to come over?” “Yup!” Me and Phen always liked to watch a show called ‘Anything out There.’ It was basically a ton of paranormal sightings of ghosts, aliens, ect, that were put into episodes. If there was more proof of something, there would be a new episode. If there was nothing coming up on the subject, they would stop making them. That's what happened to almost all of the bigfoot episodes that were popular in the first season, but now have died out. “I heard there were some new episodes in season 10.” “Really?” “I think there are some ones with alien sightings, new mothman ones, and a few with some new paranormal sightings I can't remember the names of.” “We finally got some mothman ones?!” “I know right!” I'm not sure if there were any new sightings, but maybe it was a recap or something. “Do you think we should start heading over to your house?” “I gotta check out some of these books.” “Ok, I'll meet you outside of the store.” I walked over to the two glass doors and pushed them open. I learned on the side of the building and waited for Phen to get his book checked out. I felt like something was watching me. But it really wasn't abnormal. There would be a few people on the sidewalks that would give people quick glances, or small children that would stair until they found something better to look at. “Back.” “Less head over to your house.” We started to walk to his house. It had been about 50 seconds but the feeling hadn't gone away. I still didn't think much of it “Have you seen any cool places to shop in the area?” “No, but I think there is gonna be a new clothing store a few blocks down.” “What's the clothing style?” “Not sure, I think it's like an alt place to get clothes. I'm pretty sure they'll sell some ghost stuff there though, so we could probably check it out once it opens.” “Sure.” After about two minutes, we arrived at Phen’s house. It was mostly white with a sort of reddish brown roof. There was a black car parked in the driveway and in the grass he had parked his bike. We walked inside of the house and he brought me up to his bedroom. It was a fairly small room, but at least he had a t.v. “I'll turn on the show, can you grab some chips from downstairs?” “Sure.” I started to flick through the shows to find the one we were looking for. After not much looking, I found the show and waited for Phen to come back up with some chips. “Got the chips.” “I found the show.” “Which episode should we watch?” “I wanna watch an alien one.” “Sure, less watch the oldest to newest so we get caught up.” We continued to watch the episodes for what felt like an hour, until we started to get bored. “Wanna draw or something?” “Sure.” “I got pens or pencils, not sure which you prefer to draw with.” “I like to use pens.” He gave me a piece of paper and a pen and I started drawing. I wasn't sure of what I had drawn, but there was something about it I couldn't seem to catch. It had green skin, a short but still almost slender body, a long sharp tail, sharp claws on the fingers and splits of the feet that were blacked out at the tips, black antennas, Two sets of red eyes, a long tongue and sharp teeth, with black spikes down its back, finishing at the end of the tail. It felt familiar. It's probably just because I watched “Anything out There” literally a minute ago. “Cool drawing.” I didn't even notice Phen looking at my art. “Oh, thanks.” I looked outside the window and saw it was pitch black. “Shoot, what time is it?” “8:43.” Turns out we had been watching t.v for more than just an hour. “Dad said I had to be back by 9:00, remember?” “Oh yah. I can take you back to your house. My bike can fit two people.” “Sure. I just need to grab my book.” I picked up the bag and raped the plastic handel around my wrist several times.

-No name was ever given to this story-

My eyes flicked on from the dim light from my window. I rubbed my eyes and looked back at my calendar. March 3rd, today, March 19, job interview, March 21, clean up the apartment, April 24, my 24th birthday aka golden birthday. I looked at the fuzzy gray carpet with my dirty clothes, books, and other random things. Good thing I marked “clean up,” on my calendar. Then I looked at my nightstand. I had my sketchbook, cup, and old paper. Under the stacks of paper was an old communication I hadn’t lifted up since January of 2021. I didn’t really want to try to contact Gizmo anymore, and at this point they didn’t seem like they wanted me to text them either. But I still wanted to try. I lifted up the paper and typed in the code on the keys of the weird board. I typed in the same thing everytime. “Gizmo. Are you there?” But this time I wanted to add something else. “It's ok if you don’t reply to this, but this will probably be the last time I send a message. I'm sorry for what happened.” I then grabbed the device and shoved it under some old blankets under my bed. I wanted to be done with it. They hadn’t sent a message back in years. I got out of bed wearing nothing but my boxers and threw on some clothes. I walked into the bathroom and did the standard brush my teeth, do my hair, make sure I look decent. I worked at a popular coffee place but I had a job interview for a space science company. I went into the living room and grabbed my keys off of the coffee table and put on my shoes. I thought I could hear something coming from my bedroom. Gizmo? I held my keys tightly to mute any sound. I could slightly hear a voice, but this wasn’t the first time I thought Gizmo was trying to call. I shook it off and unlocked the door. I walked down the apartment stairs and started up the car. I checked my phone to see it was 6:45. I got in my car and headed off to work. I wonder if it was actually Gizmo calling. I don’t really think they would have texted back, or even called at all though. Considering the reason they left was because of me, I'm not sure they would ever want to call me again. I parked into the employee parking space and got out of the car. I wiped my face and walked into the shop. There, I saw one of my coworkers, June. “Hi June.” “Hi Camren!” She was one of my friends and I told her a bit about Gizmo. I think she listened, but I could never tell if she was drifting into her own thoughts. I walked over to the cash register and sat behind and sat down. The shop was probably going to open in the next 20 minutes or so.”Have you found any job interviews?” “Yeah, on the 19th. It’s not too far from my apartment, thankfully.” “That's good! Tell me if it goes well.” She leaned back on the back of the booths that weren't too far away from me and looked at her phone. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Cleaned some booths, made some cash, and didn’t really have to deal with annoying customers though. I opened my car and drove back home. I drove into my driveway and parked my car. I went back into the building and walked up the stairs. At this point I was pretty tired and it was afternoon. I checked my phone again. 4:23. I walked back into my bedroom and looked at the blankets covering the weird console. I walked over and unwrapped the blankets I saw Gizmo sent a voice message. My stomach dropped. Why would they text me? It’s been 11 years. Did they see my message? My hands were shaking and I looked at the voice massage. I tried to tap the play button but my hands were so shaky I kept pressing the wrong thing. Eventually, I tapped the video and I heard Gizmo. “Samantha?” The massage was rough and I heard a lot of background noise. “ I can’t stay here, I'm coming to your quarnations. I'm not sure what to say but I-” The voice ended and the massage was done. Why was Gizmo coming back to earth? They were outed for being an alien, and I was the one to blame for that. Plus I got them injured. The moment left a memory that I still hadn’t forgotten and It was as sharp as a knife, I was sure Gizmo would never forgive me. Even If they could rip me to shreds. I then tried to message back. “Gizmo? Are you there?” I waited for a response. I stared at the screen until my legs were tired and weak, and I then stared at it sitting down on my bed. I fell asleep, but then was awakened by a loud thud in the forest behind the apartment. I jolted awake and It all sunk back into me like a blade. I grabbed my phone and ran outside to the noise. I turned on my flashlight, I didn’t even check the time. I swayed the light left and right to see if I could find anything. I found a big hole in the ground with skid marks leading up to it. This must be their ship. They must have put the invisibility cloak on before they landed. I hit the surrounding area and I was corrected. The ship flashed its original shape before becoming fully visible. I found the entrance and pulled on it until It broke open. There I saw Gizmo, lying uncountouse with blood on her legs, hands, and face. It was a dark yellow and was coming from a few big cuts. I lifted them up making sure not to hit their spikes on their back and ran back to my apartment. I prayed no one was awake and bust open the door to the flight of stairs. I unblocked my apartment door and rushed inside. I laid them down on a couch in the living room and grabbed a first aid kit from my bathroom. By this point I was shaking and breathing heavily. Why were they here? Didn’t they hate me? I almost killed them. Why did they still trust me? I ran back into the living room and looked at the wounds, almost like bullets. Some of them looked like cuts. I started to disinfect them and wipe them of any bacteria. I could see their antennas twitch as cleaned their wounds and now I couldn’t tell if they were awake or not. “Giz? Gizmo?” But to no reply. I worked on their cuts, and injuries for the next 30 minutes. I had to remove some articles of clothing to get to some of the wounds on their chest. After I was mostly finished I grabbed an old blanket from my bedroom and laid it on top of Gizmo. I then walked back into my bedroom and shut the door, my hands still shaking. It was only then I noticed my shirt partially drenched in yellow blood. I threw off my shirt and flopped into bed. I guess It's going to be an interesting morning when Giz wakes up. At least I have tomorrow off. Then after about 10 minutes, It was 12:42 and I was sleeping.
Chapter 2: As I woke up, all of my body felt a bit tired, but after I remembered what happened last night, the soreness was justifiable. I walked out of bed and looked at the bloody shirt on the ground. I would probably need to wash that. But in the meantime I grabbed a baggy shirt from my drawer and walked out into the living room. The light from the sun was pretty bright and I was guessing it was around 4:50 to 5:00. I walked back to the couch, and I guess my footsteps were louder than I expected because I saw their antennas twitch and open their two sets of yellow eyes that looked like wet glass. I could hear them grown as They put their hand on their head, while I watched from behind the couch. I heard them mumble some sort of sentence in a language I couldn't understand. Then I quietly walked over to the mini fridge to see if I could grab something to eat, but then I could hear them jolt up and freeze when I opened the fridge. It wasn’t long before I heard them say something again in the weird gibberish, but was then corrected by english. “Where am I?” “My house.” I wasn’t sure if they recognized my voice, because I could hear them tightening up on the couch and trying to move. “A-are you Samantha?” “Yeah. I go by Camren now.” I stayed silent. It felt weird, almost nostalgic talking to them. I then walked over to the couch to see Gizmo. They held the blanket close to their chest and watched me like a hawk. I walked closer to them and hoped they wouldn’t lash out. “Can I see the cuts?” Gizmo looked around a bit to see where their cuts were but then realized I had to take off their shirt to wrap some of the cuts on their chest. Those were probably the worst ones. They looked like bullets and there were about six of them, all deep. “Where's my ship?” It sounded like it was meant to come out differently but It sounded frail and weak. “It's back in the forest. I don’t think anyone will see it. It was pretty busted up anyway.” They still looked pretty stressed and weren't making any eye contact, but at least they were talking to me. I got up and started to walk to the bedroom when I heard Gizmo trying to say something. “Why.” I stopped and looked at them. They still didn’t make any eye contact and were trying to avoid the sight of me “Hm?” “Why did you save me?” They tried to curl up, but couldn’t because of their wounds. “When I set the coordinates before I was knocked out, I was sure I wouldn’t have woken up.” Their long tail curled up next to them. “I couldn’t let you die.” I continued to walk into the bedroom and grabbed my and Gizmo’s dirty shirts. then walked back into the living room, as I made my way to the laundry room. I saw Giz looking at their injuries. “What happened anyway?” They stopped and took an odd amount of time to reply. “I…I don’t want to talk about it.” It was normal that they didn’t want to talk to me. But I still wanted to make sure they were ok. “Does it hurt?” “Yeah, Whenever I move. I have a bigger concern though. I need to see my ship-” They tried to get up but then fell back down from what looked to be pain. I quickly walked over to the couch to see if Giz was ok. “You can’t walk your hurt!” They looked down and tried to bear through the pain. It was probably rough. “I'm fine. I still need to get to my ship.” “I can carry you there. But I still don’t think we should be out very long.” They looked a bit skeptical, but then loosened up. “Fine.” It was odd for them to be so ok with this. Had they forgiven me? It was a possibility, but not really reasonable. I held Gizmo, still wrapped in blankets and started to walk out of the apartment. The only way I really was able to remember where the ship crashed was from blood. I could tell Gizmo saw because I could feel the spikes on their back almost try to lift up, but was stopped by my arm. I eventually made it to the broken ship. It was all going semi-ok, until Gizmo seemed to look at something. “Camren put me down, put me down!” They tried to move a bit, and their spikes were lifting up. “What is it? You can’t even stand anyway!” “There is something on my ship and if you don’t put me down I can’t do anything about it!” They were still almost flailing around a bit until it was stopped by a buzzing in my pocket. “W-who is that. I knew this was a bad idea! I can’t trust you-” Their spikes started to cut through the blanket and I could feel it on my shirt. “Someones calling me! I'm not trying to do anything!” They seemed to calm down. “I'll put you down, but I dont think getting up is the best idea.” I set them down on the grass and I picked up the call. “Hi june!” “Hey Cam. Are you free tomorrow? We could probably get some coffee or something.” “Yeah sure! 5:00?” “That will work. See you then!” She hung up the call and I put my phone back in my pocket. Then I looked at Gizmo trying to stand up. “Are you even able to walk?” “I'm fine-” They stood up for a second before falling back down again. I was able to catch them before they fell. “Carefull!” When they stood they didn’t seem any taller than I was when I was 12. I held them as they tried to walk to the back of their ship. They then said something in weird gibberish and put all of their weight on me. “What is it?” “THEY PUT A FREAKING TRACKING DEVICE ON MY SHIP!” “Who?!” I tried to look back through all my memories to see if I could figure out what was happening. “THEY'RE COMING FOR ME! AT THIS POINT I'M DEAD MEAT.” I held them up in my arms and tried to talk with them. “I should have just let them kill me.” I felt a wave of emotions. This was something I could try and fix. I felt like I had to do something. Anything. I found what they were looking at and kicked it with all of my energy. It hurt my foot a lot but It looked like I was detaching the thing. I kicked at it again and sparks flew. I did this until it eventually broke off and it looked broken beyond repair. I then looked back at Giz. They looked more shocked than I had ever seen them. My breathing was heavy from kicking. “Gizmo.” “What?” “What happened.” They were still like a rock and didn’t want to speak. “I need to know what's happening.” I stopped for a second. They had eventually responded, but not with an answer to my question. “Less go back.” I could have stayed outside until they told me, but that wasn’t exactly a good idea. There wasn’t much else, so I started to walk back to the house. “You should probably rest for a while. I'm not sure if you've healed much.” I wasn’t sure what to say anymore. “Is there any way you can repair the ship?” “No, not anymore.” “How long will you be on earth then?” “I guess until I can figure something else out, or until you out me like last time, but this time I would probably die and be dissected.” I felt bad for what I had done. “Giz. I'm not going to do that. I'm older than I was before. I still think It would be cool to have evidence and make contact, but I can't do that.” I managed to not be seen walking up to my apartment but it was probably best if I didn’t bring them out. “I don’t think I'm going to take you outside very much. You can’t stand and you don’t have a disguise.” “Ok then. But I'll need to at least try to make ship repairs by myself.” I got into my apartment and put Giz back on the couch. “I'm going back into the bedroom, if you need me I'll be in there.” Gizmo didn’t seem too interested, but kept the thought in mind. I walked into my bedroom and shut the door. I felt the buzzing again in my pocket. I picked up my phone and June sent me a text. Is it ok if we reschedule the meet up for tonight? Mabey at 4:40? I knew I should say no, but I didn’t want to act weird. Sure. You can come over at 4:00. I sat my phone down. What am I going to do about Gizmo? Speaking of Giz, I can hear them talking outside of my room. I was kinda curious about what they were talking about, or to. I put my ear to the door, but they were talking in the gibberish I still couldn’t understand.

Welcome to the Graveyard of Stories

Almost Human

One of Us

-No name was ever given to this story-

A tribute to my first comic